diff --git a/roles/repospanner/server/tasks/main.yml b/roles/repospanner/server/tasks/main.yml
index 1db1dcffbf..6e37be40b3 100644
--- a/roles/repospanner/server/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/repospanner/server/tasks/main.yml
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@
     creates: /var/lib/repospanner/state/state.json
   become: yes
   become_user: repoSpanner
-  when: "spawn_repospanner_node is defined and spawn_repospanner_node is true"
+  when: "spawn_repospanner_node is defined and spawn_repospanner_node == true"
   tags:
   - repospanner/server
   - config
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@
     creates: /var/lib/repospanner/state/state.json
   become: yes
   become_user: repoSpanner
-  when: "spawn_repospanner_node is not defined or spawn_repospanner_node is false"
+  when: "spawn_repospanner_node is not defined or spawn_repospanner_node == false"
   tags:
   - repospanner/server
   - config